Patent · US Active

OCT system with bonded MEMS tunable mirror VCSEL swept source

US10109979B2 · kind B2 · utility

4Cited by

18References

2Claims

0Family size

Assignee

Axsun Technologies, Inc. · US

Inventors

Dale C. Flanders · Lexington, US
Mark E. Kuznetsov · Lexington, US
Walid A. Atia · Lexington, US
Bartley C. Johnson · North Andover, US

Key dates

Filing date	Jul 22, 2016
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018
Priority date	—
Expiry date	Jul 22, 2036

Classification

Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
CPC primaryH01S5/18375
WIPO fieldOptics
WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) in which the MEMS mirror is bonded to the active region. This allows for a separate electrostatic cavity that is outside the laser's optical resonant cavity. Moreover, the use of this cavity configuration allows the MEMS mirror to be tuned by pulling the mirror away from the active region. This reduces the risk of snap down. Moreover, since the MEMS mirror is now bonded to the active region, much wider latitude is available in the technologies that are used to fabricate the MEMS mirror. This is preferably deployed as a swept source in an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.